President Trump says he warned GM CEO Mary Barra to add another factory in Ohio, one of three North American sites where the automaker is closing assembly plants, or risk a “big problem.”
GM announced the moves, which effectively shutter its Lordstown, Ohio, operation, on Monday, prompting a bipartisan backlash. The company is also closing two propulsion plants.
“I told them, ‘You’re playing around with the wrong person'” Trump said to the Wall Street Journal, recounting a conversation before GM’s announcement. The president, whose victory in Ohio helped him win the 2016 election, added that he told Barra to “open a new plant there quickly.”
Barra is slated to meet on Monday with top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a spokeswoman confirmed.
GM’s decision has the potential to influence Trump’s fortunes in the next presidential election, which is less than two years away. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is actively considering a White House bid after handily winning re-election in the state, while Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich, is deciding whether to fight Trump for the GOP nomination.
The company said in a statement that 15 percent of its salaried workforce will be cut as the manufacturer shifts its focus to all-electric and autonomous vehicles.
“With changing customer preferences in the U.S. and in response to market-related volume declines in cars, future products will be allocated to fewer plants next year,” GM said.
